The Sins of the Father

by N Fourbois

Chapter 24

Rufus and Michel spent the rest of the journey chatting and looking out of the window at the scenery. Michel was interested in the little he had been told of the Lindstrom boys' adventures into bondage . It was a realm of sexual activity he had no experience of and a model of his experience and sexuality could expect to have come across most things, even if he hadn't indulged in them.

"Are you interested in taking part in a scene?" Rufus asked.

"You've roused my curiosity, certainly, but there are professional considerations. My job depends on my keeping my body free of bruises, lacerations, weals, blemishes and the like. Even a zit in the wrong place can put me off work for a couple of days which will then mean that someone else will get the job."

Rufus replied "I think I have already told you this, but I am interested from the psychological aspect, and the physical side I have to admit does get me aroused. However, I don't think I have anything to prove by having pain inflicted on me. My brothers do, though. And I am interested in it as a form of sexual recreation, but for it to be successful the sub has to be in a state of… well, if not a state of fear, a state of apprehension before the unknown. Otherwise it doesn't work. I'm not sure I could put you through a scene. On the other hand my brother Hugo could and because of the animosity between you two there would be a distinct risk that he would go OTT. Okay, I suppose I could tie you up and we could have sex in one form or another, but there would never be the mystery and that's essential."

At that point the aisle door opened and a young man pushing a refreshment trolley came in. When he had just finished serving the family in the next group of seats, Michel whispered to Rufus, rather more loudly than he intended,

"I wouldn't mind putting my hand up between his legs and having a good feel of his balls." It was obvious the trolley boy had heard him because he turned round, faced Michel and said quite unabashed

"That will be ten pounds, sir." Michel blushed and Rufus was reduced to giggles. Finally Rufus managed to say

"That's okay. Two coffees will do fine, thank you."

"Very well, sir." The trolley boy had a broad grin on his face, evidently pleased with himself for the way he'd handled the situation and called Michel's bluff.

The trolley boy carried on along to the end of the coach, which being the last on the train meant that it was the end of his run. As he wheeled his trolley back he stopped by the boys and said to Michel

"Hey, I recognise you from somewhere, don't I?"

"Possibly. I'm a model by profession."

"What sort of modelling?"

"Anything. Anything that pays my wages."

"I know where it was now. GY magazine."

"You never told me you'd modelled for GY ," interrupted Rufus.

"You never told me you read it," protested Michel.

"Oh, yeah. My brothers and I have got a subscription, but we didn't notice you."

"That's because you don't read the ads," said the trolley boy.

"I appear in an ad that encourages young people to use condoms. It's a sort of unisex ad really because it appears in all sorts of places, not just the pink press. It's one I did before joining your mother's agency."

"Pleased to meet you," said the trolley boy and shook Michel's hand before taking off with his trolley.

The train was slowing. Michel and Rufus recognised the view out of the train window. They would soon be drawing into their station. Rufus suddenly grew anxious at the idea of Michel meeting the family. It would be all right if his father was on his own, which he expected. It would be all right if Magnus was with him, but it could be a bit awkward if his mother was there, which was unlikely, and almost explosive if Hugo had come along. Rufus didn't know why he was worrying. Carl apart, the whole family knew Michel, for better or worse. Carl was the one who said he'd meet them at the station. He wanted to tell his father that Michel was his new boyfriend. He didn't mind Magnus knowing, but as far as the other two were concerned he was to be just a friend. Yet it gave him a conscience to deny Michel's status and why should it?

Events overtook Rufus's anxieties. The train arrived at the platform. Rufus and Michel got out dragging their cases behind them and Carl was on the platform alone to greet them. Carl and Rufus hugged and his father asked if he had a good weekend.

"This is Michel, Dad." Carl greeted him and they shook hands. "Do you mind giving him a lift home?"

"Not in the least," and with that Carl took Michel's case and wheeled it towards the car.

When they arrived at Michel's house, his mother came out to meet them and he introduced Rufus and his father to her.

"Come in and have a cup of tea," she said. "The kettle's on." Carl and Rufus looked at one another and Rufus gave a slight nod.

"That's very kind of you, Mrs Ledivin," said Carl.

"Dwight. Mrs Dwight. I'm not a model." She laughed. "Call me Brenda. Michael, show your friends into the front room." As they went into the house, Rufus recalled his mother's admonition from weeks ago. ' By the way, Michel Ledivin is his professional name. His real name is Michael Dwight, although he does prefer to be called Michel rather than Michael, or Mike, or Micky.' That is something that would have to be sorted out in time. Mrs Dwight obviously had no pretensions whatsoever.

Over tea and cake the boys chatted to their parents, telling them about the weekend, some of the things they did and how much they had enjoyed the ballet.

Finally it was time for Rufus and Carl to go. They would be in trouble if they arrived late for dinner and trouble was the last thing that Carl wanted. Rufus hugged Michel and said he would ring him in the week and perhaps they could go out somewhere the following weekend. Mr Lindstrom and Mrs Dwight gave each other knowing looks. Once they had driven off, Rufus turned to his father and said

"I want you to be the first to know. Michel and I are an item." Carl took his left hand off the steering wheel and gave his son an encouraging cuddle. "Except I don't want to tell Mum yet. Not because of me, but because I don't want it to affect Michel's job prospects at the agency, especially as he's new there. As far as Mum's concerned, we're just good friends, okay?"

"And what about the twins?"

"Leave them to me. Magnus will be all right. Hugo could be awkward and so I might not tell them until they go off to university and Hugo will have ten weeks to get used to it. On the other hand it might be like the 1914 Great War and all be over by Christmas."

Arriving home Rufus was welcomed by the rest of the family.

"Was the train late?" his mother enquired.

"No," answered Rufus. "We took Michel home and his mother asked us in for a cup of tea." Veronica asked all sorts of questions about the weekend. Rufus knew what she was trying to find out and he made sure she didn't. Now he was sixteen he was entitled to limited privacy and independence and it was none of her business whether they had slept in the same bed or had sex together. The interrogation continued over dinner, but because he was in such a good mood he answered her questions with a smile and remained successfully evasive.

On the other side of town Brenda Dwight was preparing something for her and Michel to eat that evening. Meanwhile he was upstairs unpacking. He wanted to hang up his DJ before it became too creased and he'd have to send it to the cleaners just to have it pressed. He tossed all his soiled clothes into the linen basket. He unpacked his purchases and admired them, especially the new tights. He'd like to try them on, but he didn't have time. His mother would be calling him down for dinner in a minute. He packed everything else away into the drawers and put the empty suitcase back on top of his wardrobe. He took the linen basket downstairs and fed the washing machine. After taking the linen basket back to his bedroom, he sank down into his armchair and fell into that trancelike state between sleeping and waking where the senses, particularly hearing, become more acute. His mind retraced the events of the last couple of weeks from helping Magnus with work experience, through the week he met Rufus, the one following when he'd won the phone-in competition on 'Claasic' FM, up to the past three days he'd spent with Rufus. He was attempting to rationalise the irrational.

When had he fallen in love with Rufus? In the broom cupboard boomed the reply. No, it couldn't have been, or he wouldn't have taken Rufus in there and he'd only met him properly a couple of hours before. Hadn't it been the previous week before he had even met him? The Lindstrom brothers were funny boys. Hugo had been such a shit, but why? He was full of bullshit and swagger as if he had to prove that he could take on the world and win. Michel had been almost scared of meeting Magnus because he didn't want a week of the same from the other twin, and yet… And yet Magnus had been most unassuming and achieved so much more than his twin brother. When they got talking in quiet moments, Magnus assured Michel that he ain't seen nuthin' yet and he painted a loving picture of his little brother. That was the moment he fell in love with Rufus and all this was within the context of their mother being his boss.

The following week the two boys met. Rufus was apprehensive, having heard two contrary opinions of the young model. He was off his guard when he was swept into the broom cupboard by the boy who, within the microcosm of the modelling agency, was the star of the show, while he at the bottom of the pecking order became the chosen one. Hadn't Magnus been right, thought Michel.

Michel had always liked ballet. It was part of his training to become a model. It taught him how to hold himself properly, how to look after and safely exploit his body. As a gay young man it gave him certain opportunities, the ironies of which situation had not been wasted on Michel. If in public he had been busted checking out a boy of his own age – boywatching Rufus had called it – he risked being verbally abused at best or beaten up at worst, but within the confines of the practice room he was encouraged to take a good look at his fellows, ogle their packages, admire their buttocks and their crack. It was part of his training. In the practice room and the modelling agencies he discovered that he was gay and loved every moment of it because he was surrounded by likeminded boys. In school he had never had any trouble, probably because he could still his lusts outside.

Michel's mind tripped on to the following week. What made him go in for that competition? It was a chance in a thousand, many thousands. Yes, he did it because he loved ballet and had never seen one live in a theatre, but because he had no chance of winning, Rufus didn't enter his head. Then he did win and without a partner there was not only a wasted ticket, but also a lonely weekend in store. His mother would not have wanted to go, but what a chance to get to know Rufus better. And really, he did not know that it was going to be an all male production, despite what he had said to Rufus. It takes a lot of courage to ask the boss's son out on a dirty weekend, more courage than abducting him into a broom cupboard and getting him to put his lips round your dick.

The weekend had been perfect. Michel had no idea of what had been going on in Rufus's head, but they had bonded. At that moment he was torn from his reverie by his mother calling up the stairs to say that dinner was ready and that he could leave emptying the washing machine until afterwards.

"So, Michael, what was your weekend like?" asked Brenda Dwight when mother and son had settled down at the dining room table and started their meal.

"Fantastic. Far better than I could imagine."

"How did you get on with the boss's son?"

"Rufus? Oh, great. Do you know something, mother? I hope you don't mind…" and his voice dropped to a whisper even though there was no one else in the house, "we've decided to become boyfriends." He stopped, waiting for the reaction.

"Why on earth should I mind, Michael? I don't want to go to my eternal rest worrying that you've got no one to look after you in your old age." He put his hand across the table and touched hers.

"Thank you, Mum."

"What are the Lindstroms going to say?"

"Rufus is going to tell his dad on the way home and his brothers when they go off to university, but he's not going to tell his mother yet, partly because of my job and partly because of some family difficulties at present."

"Doesn't she know he's gay?"

"Oh, yes. She knows all three boys are, but while she accepts it with the twins, she finds it hard to accept it with Rufus."

"Michael, I hope you'll be happy together and Rufus will be welcome here anytime. I know you'll be sensible." They finished their meal and Michel said

"I'd better put my washing in the dryer. I'll need some of that stuff tomorrow."